Disease

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Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature by John McClintock & James Strong (1880)

(properly מִהֲלֶהmachaleh’, νόσος). Diseases are not unfrequently alluded to in the Old Testament; but, as no description is given of them, except in one or two instances (see below), it is for the most part impossible to determine much with certainty concerning their nature. The same indefiniteness prevails to a very great degree in the mention of diseases in the New Testament, but few of which are sufficiently explicit to identify them precisely with the descriptions of modern pathology. With respect to this subject, it is known that there are certain words of ancient origin which are used in the Scriptures to express diseases of some kind or other; it will therefore be a prominent attempt with us to ascertain what the diseases are that were designed to be expressed by those words, which will be noticed in their appropriate places. SEE PESTILENCE. The ancients were accustomed to attribute the origin of diseases, particularly of those the natural causes of which they did not understand, to the immediate interference of the Deity (Deu 28:60; 2Ki 19:35; 1Ch 21:12-15; Psa 39:9-11; Act 12:23). Hence they were frequently denominated by the ancient Greeks μάστιγες, or the scourges of God, a word which is employed by the physician Luke himself (Luk 7:21), and also in Mar 5:29; Mar 5:34. Two of the plagues of Egypt were of this character. According to Prosper Alpinus (De Med. AEgypt.), diseases prevalent in Egypt, and other countries of a similar climate, were ophthalmies, or diseases of the eyes; leprosies, inflammations of the brain, pains in the joints, the hernia, the stone in the kidneys and bladder, the phthisic, hectic, pestilential, and tertian fevers; weakness of the stomach, and obstructions in the liver and the spleen. The most prevalent diseases of the East at the present day are cutaneous diseases, malignant fevers, dysentery, and ophthalmia. Of the first of these, the most remarkable are leprosy and elephantiasis. The latter is usually thought to have been the disease of Job (q.v.). SEE LEPROSY. To the same class also belongs the singular disease called the mal d’Aleppo, or "Aleppo button," a species of felon, which is confined to Aleppo, Bagdad, Aintab, and the villages on the Segour and Kowick (Russell’s Nat. History of Aleppo, 2:299). The Egyptians are subject to an eruption of red spots and pimples, which cause a troublesome smarting. The eruption returns every year towards the end of June or beginning of July, and is on that account attributed to the rising of the Nile (Volney, 1:231). Malignant fevers are very frequent, and of this class is the great scourge of the East, the plague (q.v.), which surpasses all others in virulence and contagiousness. The Egyptian ophthalmia is prevalent throughout Egypt and Syria, and is the cause of blindness being so frequent in those countries. SEE BLINDNESS. Of inflammatory diseases in general, Dr. Russell (1.c.) says that at Aleppo he has not found them ’more’ frequent, nor more rapid in their course, than in Great Britain. Epilepsy and diseases of the mind are commonly met with. Melancholy monomaniacs are regarded as sacred persons in Egypt, and are held in the highest veneration by all Mohammedans. SEE LUNATIC.

The spermatic issue mentioned in Lev 15:5, cannot refer to gonorrhaea virulenta, as has been supposed by Michaelis and Hebenstreit, for the person who exposed himself to infection in the various ways mentioned was only unclean until the evening, which is far too short a time to allow of its being ascertained whether he had escaped contagion or not. Either, then, the law of purification had no reference whatever to the contagiousness of the disease (which is hardly admissible), or the disease alluded to was really not contagious. SEE ISSUE.

Hezekiah (q.v.) suffered, according to our version, from a boil (2Ki 20:7). The term here used, שִׁחִין, shichin’, means literally inflammation; but we have no means of identifying it with what we call boil (q.v).

The disease of Jehoram (q.v.), spoken of in 2Ch 21:18 (comp. the similar case of Herod, Act 12:23), is probably referable to chronic dysentery, which sometimes occasions an exudation of fibrine from the inner coats of the intestines. The fluid fibrine thus exuded coagulates into a continuous tubular membrane, of the same shape as the intestine itself, and as such is expelled. This form of the disease has been noticed by Dr. Good under the name of diarrhaea tubularis (Study of Med. 1:287). A precisely similar formation of false membranes, as they are termed, takes place in the windpipe in severe cases of croup.

The malady of Nebuchadnezzar (q.v.), alluded to in Dan 4:33, was a species of melancholy monomania, called by medical authors zoanthropia, or more commonly lycanthropia, because the transformation into a wolf was the most ordinary illusion. Esquirol considers it to have originated in the ancient custom of sacrificing animals. But, whatever effect this practice might have had at the time, the cases recorded are independent of any such influence; and it really does not seem necessary to trace this particular hallucination to a remote historical cause, when we remember that the imaginary transformations into inanimate objects, such as glass, butter, etc., which are of every-day occurrence, are equally irreconcilable with the natural instincts of the mind. The same author relates that a nobleman of the court of Louis XIV was in the habit of frequently putting his head out of a window, in order to satisfy the urgent desire he had to bark (Esquirol, Maladies Montales, 1:622). Calmet informs us that the nuns of a German convent were transformed into cats, and went mewing over the whole house at a fixed hour of the day.

On the cases of persons possessed with unclean spirits, SEE DEMONIAC. For other specifications of disease in the Bible, SEE BLAINS; SEE BOTCH; SEE FLUX; SEE HAEMORRHOIDS; SEE MURRAIN; SEE BLOODY SWEAT; SEE PALSY; SEE LAME; SEE IMPOTENT; SEE WITHERED; SEE LICE, etc. On the methods practiced by the ancient and modern Orientals for curing diseases, SEE HEALING; SEE MEDICINE; SEE PHYSICIAN, etc. The following special treatises exist on the subject: Michaelis, Lex Mosaica de morbis illustrata (Gott. 1757; also in his Syntagma, 2, No. 4); Ader, De morbis in N.T. (Tolet. 1621); Bartholinus, De Morbis Biblicis (F. ad M. 1697, 1705, etc.); Eschenbach, Scripta medico-biblia (Rost. 1779); Jordan, De divino in morbis (F. ad V. 1651); Mead, Medica sacra (Amst. 1749; in German, Leipz. 1777); Richter, Dissertt. medicae (Gotting. 1775); Anon. Untersuch. med. hermen. (Leipz. 1794); Warliz, De morbis Biblicis (Viteb. 1714); Wolf, Von den Krankheiten der Juden (Mann. 1777). SEE SICKNESS.

Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels by James Hastings (1906) ↑

DISEASE

i. Current preconceptions prevalent in time of Christ.

ii. References to sickness and disease in the Gospels.

1. Diseases resulting in physical defect or incapacity.

2. Fever and allied diseases.

3. Cutaneous affections.

4. Dropsy.

5. Nervous diseases.

6. Nervous and psychical disorders.

Literature.

i. Current preconceptions in time of Christ.—Two ideas respecting disease had a powerful influence on conceptions current in our Lord’s day: (1) The belief that all sickness and physical disease and pain were penalties imposed as the result of sin; (2) the idea that demonic agency was concerned with all human suffering. These kindred and allied ideas have been common among ancient peoples, and were strongly developed among the Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks.

Sayce, in his Hibbert Lectures (310, 334–5), gives evidence of the ancient Akkadian belief that disease and sickness were caused by specific malevolent spirits which possessed the person. The demons had been eaten with the food, drunk with the water, or inbreathed from the air; and until the evil power had been expelled the victim had no chance of recovery. Exorcism was effected by the sorcerer-priest, the intermediary between mankind and the spiritual world, using magic spells consisting of the names of deities, the name signifying the personality of the god, who was compelled by this use of the name to attend to the exorcist.

Among the Semites any mysterious natural object or occurrence appealing strongly to the imagination or exciting sentiments of awe and reverence was readily taken as a manifestation either of Divine or of demonic life (W. R. Smith, R^S^{[Note: S Religion of the Semites.]} 119 ff.). The demons, if offended, avenged themselves by sending various forms of disease. Indications are found in the Gospels that such ideas were not extinct in the time of Christ. The old Semitic strain of conception was modified and quickened by contact with Babylonian, Persian, and Grecian peoples, and prevailed with considerable force in the later Judaism. The NT reflects the ideas of a time when the older conceptions were breaking up, but had not yet disappeared.

Our Lord gives no sanction to any such thought of disease, and when the disciples betrayed their mode of thought (Joh 9:2) He took occasion to combat the ancient superstition. Although He did frequently mark sin as the cause of much physical weakness and disease (see art. Impotence), yet He denies that all sickness was penal in character. Other ends were in the Divine purview besides the punishment of personal sin (Joh 9:3). In St. Luke’s Gospel high fever seems to be attributed by implication to an evil agency, and Jesus is said to have rebuked (ἐπετίμησεν) the fever (Luk 4:38-39); but probably this must be explained as a reflexion of the current preconceptions. In Luk 13:16 no reference is necessarily made to sin having given power to Satan to afflict the woman. Demons were associated with disordered conditions of human life, as disease and infirmity: with dumbness (Mar 9:17, Luk 9:39), with deafness and dumbness (Mar 9:25), with blindness and dumbness (Mat 12:22), and with epilepsy (Mar 1:26; Mar 9:20, Luk 9:39). These physical defects are not necessarily manifestations of demonic influence, but are regarded as in close alliance with them. In St. Luke’s Gospel, also, it is noteworthy that a distinction is recorded as made by Jesus between the exorcism of demons and ordinary cures (ἐκβάλλω δαιμόνια καὶ ἰάσεις ἀποτελῶ, Luk 13:32).^*^{[Note: Hobart (Medical Language of St. Luke) and other writers claim to trace in the writings of the Third Evangelist the influence of a medical training. But the argument may be easily pressed beyond the truth. St. Luke}^{’s style and vocabulary have many affinities with classical Greek, and many of the medical expressions he uses occur in the LXX, and may have come to the Evangelist from that source. The varied terms applied to the lunatic (or epileptic) and the demonized, which give a plausibility to the suggestion that the Evangelist distinguished between these ailments, are found not in Luke, but in Matthew (see art. Lunatic).]} See, further, art. Demon.

ii. References in the Gospels to sickness and disease.

The terms employed by the Evangelists to denote bodily ailments are—

(1) ἀσθένεια, literally want of strength (α priv. and σθένος), primarily denoting weakness, and usually ‘infirmity’ or ‘infirmities’; in Act 28:9 translation ‘diseases’ (ἔχοντες ἀσθενείας); in Mat 8:17 translation ‘infirmities,’ and associated with νόσος; in Joh 11:4 Authorized Version and Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 ‘sickness’; elsewhere [Luk 5:15; Luk 8:2; Luk 13:11-12, Joh 5:5] ‘infirmity’; associated with νόσος in Luk 4:40.

(2) μαλακία (μαλάσσω, ‘soften’) denotes:

(a) softness or effeminacy, as well as sickness; (b) periodic and chronic sickness and consequent languor of body. The word is used in Mat 4:23-24; Mat 9:35; Mat 10:1, where it is associated with νόσος. The first named passage is one in which the various ailments that our Lord healed are enumerated and apparently discriminated (cf. Authorized Version and Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885).

(3) νόσος (from νη- ‘not,’ and σὁος ‘sound’ [?]) is employed to indicate more acute and violent seizures than μαλακια; found in Mat 4:23-24; Mat 8:17; Mat 9:35; Mat 10:1, Mar 1:3-4; Mar 3:15, Luk 4:40; Luk 6:17; Luk 7:21; Luk 9:1. In the Markan and Lukan (exc. Luk 4:40) passages the diseased are distinguished from the demonized.

(4) νὁσημα, a disease or sickness, Joh 5:4 (only).

(5) τοὺς κακῶς ἑχοντας is a frequent expression for those that were sick, and in Mar 1:34 we have the fuller expression τολλοὺς κακῶς ἔχοντκς σοικίλαις νόσοις.

Of the presence of specific diseases much fuller indications are more or less distinctly given in the OT than in the NT. Instances of these may he understood as included in the miscellaneous cases of sickness and disease which our Lord repeatedly dealt with. Among them are various forms of skin disease, which were and are very common in the East; also of fever and allied disorders, extending to plague and pestilence; diseases of the digestive organs; infantile and senile diseases; affections of the brain or other parts of the nervous system; and disordered conditions of the psychical side of human nature. All of these are referred to in the OT with some amount of definiteness as to symptoms.

The diseases mentioned in the Gospels, and dealt with in direct and Divine fashion by Jesus (see art. Cures), include cases of physical defect; fevers and kindred diseases; skin diseases, notably that of leprosy; a solitary case of dropsy; ailments and infirmities that were nervous in character; and others which were a combination of nervous and psychical disorder. These various afflictions are not always to be certainly identified with particular forms of disease with which modern medical science is familiar. The description of the cases is, for the most part, far removed from being scientific, but yet enables us to broadly distinguish them from one another and to classify them with fair exactitude.

1. Diseases resulting in physical defect, or incapacity

(1) Defect in the organs of speech.—The case of the dumb man recorded in Mat 9:32-33 was associated with features of mental disturbance leading the people to attribute the dumbness to demonic possession. ‘When the demon was cast out, the dumb spake,’ as though no physical defect existed apart from the psychical disturbance. Interesting cases are known in which mental derangement has been manifested in an inhibition of one of the senses. Ray (Factors of an Unsound Mind) gives an instance in which the patient was unable to see the Column in the Place Vendôme in Paris, and believed it to have been removed. A similar inhibition, resulting from psychical rather than physical causes, might be applied to the organs of speech.

(2) Defect in the organs of sense.—Among defects notably common in the East is that of blindness (see art. Sight, B). Deafness is usually accompanied by dumbness, being indeed often the main cause of it—the term deaf-mute thus accurately describing the limitation. See Deaf and Dumb.

(3) Defects in the organs both of sense and speech.—In Mat 12:22 blindness and dumbness are combined, together with mental disturbance. In this case the restoration is not spoken of as a casting out of the demon, but as a healing (ἐθεράπευσεν), indicating that there was serious physical defect to be remedied. Mat 17:14-20 = Mar 9:17 ff. = Luk 9:37-43 records in case in which both deafness and dumbness were found along with epilepsy and periodical mental derangement. Mt. and Lk. do not give the features of deafness and dumbness, but confine themselves to the mental features, which they do not describe so fully as Mark. Mar 7:32-37 is a peculiarly interesting instance of deafness combined with incapacity of speech. The description is κωφὸν καὶ μογιλάλον. The deafness might give rise to the stammering, and the fact that total dumbness had not resulted rather points to a comparatively early stage of the affliction. The signs employed by Jesus in the healing are exactly adapted to reach the intelligence of such a defect-bound soul (see art. Cures).

2. Fever and allied diseases.—Various diseases of a kindred nature to fever were common in the East and from the earliest times, and were probably not very rigorously distinguished from each other: fever, ague, and a wasting disease resembling Mediterranean fever. The NT speaks of πυρετός, ‘fever,’ in Luk 4:38 and Joh 4:52. The term in Mat 8:14 and Mar 1:30 is πυρέσσουσα; while in Luk 4:38 the illness of Peter’s wife’s mother is spoken of (possibly with a reference to the division made by the Greeks into greater and lesser fevers) as one in which the patient was συνεχομένη πυρετῷ μεγάλῳ, indicating a continued and probably malignant fever, rather than an intermittent feverish attack such as characterizes ague. The super-normal feature of the healing consisted in the immediacy of the recovery without the regular debility following the disease. The ailment described in the Gospels was probably a form of malarial fever which prevailed in the valleys of Palestine and round the Sea of Galilee.

3. Skin diseases.—The OT bears witness to the prevalence in Palestine of many forms of cutaneous disease, and the writings of travellers and eye-witnesses testify to the fact that these are still fearfully common, being perhaps the most characteristic malady of the East. These varieties of skin disease are not referred to in the NT, the only one in evidence there being that most dreaded affection of the skin, which was also in the worse forms a serious constitutional malady affecting the whole organism, which bears the name Leprosy (wh. see).

4. A solitary case of dropsy is recorded in Luk 14:2, described as ὑδρωπικός. No account is given of the trouble, the controversy with the Pharisees regarding the right use of the Sabbath being the main interest. No indication is given as to the seat of the disease which caused the dropsy, whether kidneys, heart, or liver.

5. Diseases of the nervous system.—Out of 22 cases of healing wrought by Jesus upon individuals, 8, and most probably 10, are to be classed among nervous disorders, either with or without the complication of psychical disturbance. The general exorcisms which mark our Lord’s career are of the same order, and among the general healings of sickness and infirmity which are recorded some may reasonably be supposed to be of the same character, and possibly many of them were purely nervous or hysterical afflictions. Disease of brain centres or of the nerve may also account for some of the cases of blindness. The attempt, however, to show (1) that our Lord’s healings may be all reduced to cases of hysteria and of temporary nervous disorder, such as readily yield to treatment by known therapeutic remedies, and (2) that these are the best attested of the miracles, signally fails (see art. Miracles); and yet it may be freely recognized that many of the ailments cured by Jesus belonged to the nervous category. It still remains that those who desire to minimize to the fullest extent the super-normal powers of Jesus are not helped by these facts, for in order to deal effectively with these troubles He must not only have removed the disturbing cause in the psychical nature, but also brought a Divine power to bear on the whole nervous system, dispersing in some cases organic defect and disease.

Under this head are included—

(1) Paralysis or Palsy (see art. Paralysis).

(2) Epilepsy. The cases in the NT of this distressing nervous malady are complicated with forms of mental disturbance (see art. Lunatic). But it may be supposed that among those who were regarded as possessed and whose restoration was included under the general exorcisms, some were cases of simple epilepsy (wh. see).

(3) Probably the two cases of general impotence must be included here—mentioned in Joh 5:2; Joh 5:9 and Luk 13:11-17 (see art. Impotence).

(4) In all likelihood also the man with the withered hand was one nervously afflicted. The case is recorded in Mat 12:9-13, Mar 3:1-5, Luk 6:6-11. The incapacity and wasting might be due to (a) infantile paralysis, the disease arresting the development and growth of tissue, leaving the limb shrunk and withered; or (b) it may have been congenital; or (c) it might be due to some direct injury to the main nerve of the limb, preventing its proper nutrition.

Among the halt and withered of Joh 5:3 probably there were cases of chronic rheumatism, joint diseases, and other wasting ailments, in many instances complicated with nervous exhaustion and weakness, if not with positive disease.

6. Nervous and psychical diseases.—Cases of lunacy, of epilepsy combined with insanity and perhaps those allied with idiocy, and others generally described as instances of demonic possession are given in the Gospels, and are to be recognized as having a twofold causation, on the one side physical, on the other psychical; and the problem as to which of these is primary in any particular case is not to be lightly determined. In this connexion arises the outstanding question as to the possibility of a genuine spiritual possession (see art. Lunatic), a matter which may well remain with us for some time yet as a challenge both to medical and to theological investigation. The science of anthropology may throw much light upon it, and possibly in the course of further inquiry some of the conclusions of that science may be found in need of serious modification.

Literature.—For facts relating to the nature and spread of disease in Oriental lands, and especially in Syria, consult Hirsch, Handbook of Historical Pathology (Sydenbam Soc. Tr.); Macgowan in Jewish Intelligence and Journal of Missionary Labours, 1846; Thomson, Land and Book, pp. 140–149, 356, and, for leprosy, ch. 43; also consult generally ‘Krankheiten’ in Herzog’s PR^E^{[Note: RE Real-Encyklopädie fur protest. Theologic und Kirche.]}³^{[Note: designates the particular edition of the work referred]}; Jahn, Archœologia Biblica, pt. i. ch. xii.; J. Risdon Bennett, Diseases of Bible; Hobart, Medical Language of St. Luke; Mason Good, Study of Medicine; art. by Macalister on ‘Medicine’ in Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible. For Talmudic conception of disease and medical treatment in vogue, see Wunderhar, Biblisch-Talmudische Medicin.

T. H. Wright.

Dictionary of the Bible by James Hastings (1909) ↑

DISEASE.—See Medicine.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types by Walter L. Wilson (1957) ↑

Exo 15:26 (c) The word may be used to symbolize the wicked habits and ways that this sinful world fastens upon those who belong to it but from which the Christians are delivered.

Psa 103:3 (c) Here it is indicated that every wrong, harmful and hurtful thing in the Christian’s life will come under the beneficent and blessed healing power of the Lord JESUS, if he wills it so.

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming (1990) ↑

Sickness and disease are among the results of sin that entered the human race when Adam sinned (Gen 3:16-19). Jesus’ healing of disease was one evidence that the kingdom of God had come and that Jesus had power over all the evil effects of sin (Mat 4:23; Mat 8:17; Mat 9:35; Mat 12:28). The age to come will see the complete removal of all sickness and disease (Rev 21:4; Rev 22:2).

At times God may use sickness to punish people for their sins (Num 12:1-10; 2Ki 5:25-27; Psa 38:3-6; Joh 5:13-14; Act 12:23). Other times he may use sickness to make them more reliant on his power and grace (2Co 12:7-10). In most cases, however, it is not possible to say why people suffer from sickness, disability or disease (Joh 9:1-3). The book of Job shows that no one should judge another with the accusation that the sufferer’s experience is because of personal sin (Job 42:7; see JOB; SUFFERING).

Among the diseases and disabilities that the Bible mentions are leprosy (2Ki 7:3; 2Ki 7:8; Luk 17:12; see LEPROSY), epilepsy (Mat 4:24), dysentery (Act 28:8), nervous disorders (1Sa 16:14-23; Dan 4:33), deafness (Lev 19:14; Mar 7:32), dumbness (Mar 7:37; Mar 9:25), blindness (2Sa 5:8; Mar 10:46; Joh 9:1), paralysis (Joh 5:4; Act 9:33), bone deformities (Luk 5:18; Luk 6:6; Luk 13:11), boils (1Sa 5:6; Isa 38:21), dropsy (Luk 14:2) and various fevers (Mar 1:30; Joh 4:52; Act 28:8). (Concerning the connection between demon possession and certain diseases see UNCLEAN SPIRITS.)

The Israelite laws governing cleansing, foods and diseases provided a standard of hygiene that helped protect people from many harmful diseases (see UNCLEANNESS). Nevertheless, some sickness was inevitable. At a time when the knowledge and facilities of modern medicine were not available, physicians and common people alike used whatever skills they had (Gen 50:2; Jer 8:22; Mar 5:26) and whatever treatments were available to them (2Ki 20:7; Jer 46:11; Luk 10:34; 1Ti 5:23). Many of the non-Israelite physicians were actually sorcerers (2Ch 16:12; see MAGIC).

Aquifer Open Bible Dictionary by Mission Mutual, adapted from the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary (2023)

In the bible, disease may refer to sickness, infirmity, illness, plague, and pestilence. However, plague and pestilence usually refer to situations with many victims, like epidemics. Plague and pestilence usually refer to diseases that affect many people at the same time, such as during an epidemic (a widespread outbreak). Pestilence literally means “destruction” and often describes an epidemic that causes many deaths.

Affliction and torment can sometimes include disease, but these words are broader in meaning. They may describe suffering or distress in general, not only physical illness.

During the time the Bible was written, people did not have detailed knowledge of human anatomy or of how the body’s organs worked. They did not understand disease in medical or scientific ways as people do today.

People usually thought of disease as something abnormal that weakened a person. Disease limited a person’s strength and ability to live an active life. The Hebrew word translated “sickness” is related to a verb that means “to be weak.”

This idea appears in the story of the sick man by the pool of Bethesda. He is described as an “invalid” (that is, weak and unable to move on his own) and could not get around by himself (John 5:7).

Sources of Disease

According to the Bible, disease comes from four sources:

God,
Satan,
sins of ancestors, abd
breaking physical, mental, emotional, or moral laws of nature.

God

Early people believed events and phenomena were caused by the supernatural, either by various gods or evil spirits. The Hebrews were different because they were strong monotheists. They believed one true God, who had revealed himself to them (Isaiah 45:21), was responsible for everything, including disease and evil (verse 7). This same God could also provide material blessings, health, and heal all diseases (Psalms 103:3). To the Hebrews, God could give health or sickness, and in either case, he had a purpose or reason.

One reason for disease was punishment for wrongdoing (2 Samuel 24:1, 12–16; 1 Corinthians 10:8). In the early Hebrew belief system, the response to disease was first to pray to God for forgiveness, even when the cause of disease and death was clear. For example, if venomous snakes were biting people, the first reaction was to seek God's favor, not to kill the snakes (Numbers 21:4–9). Leprosy, meaning "a smiting," was a severe disease sent by God to punish sinners (Numbers 12; 2 Kings 5:27).

God sent disease to show his power or to protect his people. The ten plagues in Egypt show his power. The destruction of Sennacherib's army shows his protection (2 Kings 19:34–36).

Satan

Satan and other evil spirits could also be responsible for disease. In the Bible, God allows Satan to bring disease. However, God limits Satan's power, as shown in the story of Job (Job 1:12). The New Testament also makes it clear that, even though Satan can influence people in certain ways, his time is limited. His complete defeat and destruction are certain.

Sins of Ancestors

Diseases in the Bible were also assumed at times to result from the sins of one's ancestors (Exodus 20:5; Leviticus 26:29; 1 Kings 17:18; Job 21:19; Lamentations 5:7). A notable example is the death of David's son due to his sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:15). This idea of disease origins continued into New Testament times and was known to the disciples of Jesus (John 9:2).

Breaking Natural Laws

This idea distinguishes the Hebrews from other peoples of their time. They believed that breaking physical, mental, emotional, or moral laws could lead to disease. This belief introduced the idea of personal responsibility for following these laws to avoid illness. A person is responsible for their own health and the community's health, rather than being a passive victim of supernatural forces.

Moses created detailed rules for personal and community health. The Mosaic law includes guidelines for many elements of life, including:

diet,
personal hygiene,
observing the Sabbath,
sanitary regulations in the camp,
cleanliness, and
sexual relations.

By following these natural laws from God, the Hebrews could expect to avoid disease (Exodus 15:26) and live long lives (Proverbs 3:1–2). From a public health perspective, these health laws of Moses are still sensible today. Many of the health laws are now demonstrably more logical than those in many other ancient cultures.

Understanding that disease can result from breaking natural laws led to a shift from priests to physicians for cures. When people thought diseases were supernatural, they did not try to learn about them to find cures. The Hebrews knew about physicians in Egypt (Genesis 50:2), where they likely worked as embalmers. Physicians practiced in Israel throughout its history, but their ability to help improved slowly (2 Chronicles 16:12; Jeremiah 8:22; Mark 5:26; Colossians 4:14). While the Scriptures support using physicians for the sick (Matthew 9:12) and medicinal drugs (Proverbs 31:6; 1 Timothy 5:23), they highlight the Christian community and its elders' role in caring for the sick (James 5:14).

Jesus Christ and Disease

Jesus treated people with diseases differently from how they were treated in the Old Testament. He did not judge them. He saw them as valuable individuals, not outcasts. He showed true compassion by touching, comforting, healing, and speaking to them naturally.

Jesus saw disease as something that stopped people from being their true selves. When he met a woman with a severe back problem for 18 years, he healed her, saying she had been "bound by Satan" (Luke 13:16). His healing of incurable diseases showed he was the Messiah (Luke 7:19–23). His work aimed to help people live more fully (John 10:10). He did not fully agree with the idea that disease was a punishment (9:3). When a leper suggested it might not be God's will for him to be well, Jesus healed him immediately (Mark 1:40; Luke 5:12–13).

Jesus was always concerned with the person’s total health or wholeness, rather than merely the symptoms of disease. He often addressed spiritual issues first, even when someone came to him with a physical problem. His talk with the Samaritan woman at the well focused on her inner conflicts (John 4:5–30). And the Sermon on the Mount, which basically deals with right attitudes and motives for human behavior, would greatly reduce personal and social suffering if it were followed. To Jesus, health is more than the absence of physical or mental disease. Health means that people are whole and able to live as God intended them to live.